Chapter 9: Met her nightmare

“So, what do you want to do when we get home?” Kiandra engaged her daughter as she started to walk out of the airport.

“Do you want to see our new house?” Kiandra continued to speak even though there was no response from Zendaya.

“Taxi!” Kiandra flagged the car down.

“Park,” she heard her daughter say after they entered the taxi. The voice was like a whisper, and it was as though she was compelled to speak.

People who didn’t know Zendaya would think she was mute, but she wasn’t. She just only spoke whenever her mother was around, as she felt most comfortable with Kiandra.

“You just got there. Don’t you want to rest?” Kiandra asked, and Zendaya shook her hand.

“I want to go to the park,” she repeated.

"Not now, honey, you'll go some other time," Kiandra told Zendaya before giving the driver instructions on where to take them.

When they got to her apartment, Zendaya entered and immediately went to lie on the couch and she sighed loudly.

Kiandra rolled her eyes as she could tell that Zendaya was only behaving like this because she refused to allow her to go to the park.

"Do you like the apartment?" Kiandra asked Zendaya, trying to spark up a conversation between them.

"It doesn't have swings, so no," she heard Zendaya answer.

"Are we really going to do this?" Kiandra asked. "I already said no," she repeated.

"Mummy,” Zendaya stressed out Kiandra's name as she sat up. "Nana didn't take me to the park as she was sick and you also don't want to take me to the park?"

Kiandra walked up to Zendaya and lightly pinched her nose. "Stop trying to emotionally blackmail me," she said.

"Mummy!" Zendaya whined once. "Please," she pleaded, her blue eyes staring into Kiandra's own.

Damnit, those blue eyes of her daughter were going to be the end of her life one day.

"Ok, how about this?" Kiandra started and Zendaya gave her mother her attention.

"You just got back and you need to rest. Why not take a nap and we'll go to the park in the evening," Kiandra proposed.

"Promise?" Zendaya asked, sticking out her pinky finger.

"I promise," Kiandra replied. "Now let's go to the room so you can rest," she said and she led Zendaya to the room.

Maybe due to the excitement of going to the park or due to the fact that she was tired, Zendaya fell asleep almost immediately.

She woke up a few hours later all refreshed much to Kiandra's relief. And just as she had promised, she and her daughter headed downstairs to go to the park.

“Please take us to the closest park,” Kiandra instructed the taxi driver she had stopped. It wasn’t every day her daughter made demands.

Kiandra was worried about Zendaya going to the park, as her body wasn’t strong enough to play in the park.

However, if she refused the little girl, she would become sad, as she was already having questions about being a normal child.

Even for a four-year-old, her daughter was really smart, and it comforted Kiandra to know that her daughter wasn’t affected mentally.

“We’re only going to spend a short time at the park, as you still need to rest,” she told her daughter.

Zendaya shook her head in disapproval, as she didn’t agree with what her mom said.

“Zendaya, you’ll have plenty of time to go to the park, but for now, you need to rest,” Kiandra put her foot down.

Knowing her daughter, she knew that the journey would have taken a toll on Zendaya’s body. If she played too much at the park, there was a high chance she would end up in the hospital.

Zendaya didn’t say anything, but Kiandra knew she was mad at her. “I’m sorry, my love, but this is for your own good.”

They arrived at the park five minutes later, and after paying the driver’s fees, Kiandra took Zendaya in.

It was a Sunday and so, there were a lot of children there. Zendaya, upon seeing them, immediately turned and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder.

This was something that happened every time they went out. Zendaya would be too timid to talk to anyone. This was one of the reasons she found it hard to stay away from her mother for too long.

“You asked me to come here. Don’t you want to play anymore?” Kiandra probed, and Zendaya refused to answer.

“Alright then, we are going home.” Kiandra turned to leave.

“I’ll stay,” Zendaya quickly said as she didn't want to leave.

Kiandra took a deep breath, and she slowly dropped Zendaya down. “Which swing do you want to play on?” She asked her daughter, who was still trying to decide.

Zendaya looked around the swings until her eyes fell on one that wasn’t crowded at all, as only a little boy was around the swing.

She tugged her mother’s clothes, and Kiandra looked down. “That one,” she said.

“Alright then, let’s go over…” Kiandra’s words were cut short as her phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she saw that it was her new boss.

“Zendaya, can you go ahead? It’s important that I take this call,” Kiandra said, and Zendaya started to make her way over to the swing.

Kiandra made sure her eyes didn’t leave her daughter as she answered the call. “Good afternoon, sir,” she greeted her boss.

“Good afternoon, Miss Aidan. I hope you remember that work starts tomorrow,” her boss pointed out.

The noise from the children made it difficult for Kiandra to hear what her boss was saying.

Taking one last look at Zendaya, who had gotten to the swing, she turned and went to a more quiet place.

“I’m sending you some files. Go through them. They are important for tomorrow’s meeting.”

“Ok sir, I will,” Kiandra said. She wanted to hang up and go back to her daughter, but the man wasn’t done with her as he started to give her a list of dos and don’ts.

It was after ten minutes that he finally let her go. Not wasting any time, she rushed back to the park and to her horror; she found a man holding Zendaya’s hand.

Kiandra immediately rushed over there to see what was going on. Upon getting closer, Zendaya noticed her and called out to her, which caused the man to turn.

And as soon as he did, Kiandra came to an abrupt stop as she looked at the man who had almost ruined her life.

In such a big city where she had thought she wouldn’t have to run into him, life had to prove her wrong by making her and him meet.

Why was life cruel to make her come face to face with Lucas Valencia?